The executive power of the province is vested in a ]ieut.gov., appointed by the gov.gen. of the dominion of Canada, assisted by a secretary and registrar, minister of public instruction, treasurer, attorney-general, commissioner of crown-lands, com missioner of agriculture and public works, and solicitor-general, appointed by himself. The provincial parliament consists of a legislative council of 24 members, appointed for life, and a legislative assembly of 65 (one from each electoral district), elected by the qualified voters for four years. The right of suffrage is conferred on all male British subjects 21 years of age who possess a small property qualification. The principal courts are the queen's bench. consisting of a chief justice and four puisne judges, and a superior court, with a chief justice and 25 .puisne judges. The public schools are under the direction of the minister of public instruction, assisted by a council of Catholics and 8 Protestants. They are classified as primary, model, and special schools, the last of which includes agricultural, high, industrial, and classical. There are
also two Roman Catholic and one Protestant normal school supported by the province. Of the colleges and universities in the province, the most important are the university of Bishop's college at Lennoxville, McGill university at Montreal, 'and the Laval uni versity at Quebec, attached to which are medical, law, and theological schools. Besides these there are 12 or 15 classical colleges and about the same number' of industrial col leges.
The majority of the inhabitants of the province are 'Roman Catholics. In 1871 they numbered 1,019,852 with 610 church organizations; and the Protestants 169,232, the chief denominations being Episcopal and Methodist. The Anglican church has bishops at. Montreal and Quebec; the Homan Catholics at Quebec, Montreal, Ottawa, Three livers, St. Hyacinthe, and Ritnouski. Of the Protestant church organizations, the Baptists have 32; the Episcopalians, 176; the _Methodists, 131; and the Presbyterians, 94. See CANADA.